Overview

Apache has been operating in the Forties Field in the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea since 2003. Investments in facility upgrades and integrity-related projects have increased the efficiency of Forties operations and production over the past six years.

In 2009 the North Sea region produced 22.4 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) or approximately 11 percent of our total worldwide production and comprised 7 percent of Apache’s year-end estimated proved reserves.

Forties field

The North Sea region had its second consecutive year of production growth in the 35-year-old Forties Field.  Apache drilled 17 wells and added 9,200 barrels of oil equivalent (Boe) per day over the year. The FC 6-3 well completed in June has already recovered 1.3 million barrels (MMBbls) and the FA 4-5 completed in January is still flowing water free at nearly 5,000 barrels per day (Bpd) and has reached cumulative production of 1.7 MMBbls.

In addition to an active year of drilling, we completed and made significant progress on several important facility projects that will benefit Forties in the years ahead. The various facility upgrade and improvement projects completed in recent years resulted in a significant reduction in the number of occurrences of unplanned downtime. In 2009, we had fewer events causing unplanned downtime than we have experienced in any year since acquiring the Forties field; 64 percent less than our previous best year.